June is Pride Month - Celebrating Pride

Ken Neumann's Statement on Pride Month 2015

June is Pride Month - Celebrating Pride

Statement from USW National Director Ken Neumann on Pride Month 2015

The United Steelworkers joins in recognizing and celebrating the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities and activists to our union, our communities and our country.

There has been a significant shift recently in Canada in extending legislation supporting LGBT rights. As of March 2015, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador have extended protected grounds to explicitly include "gender expression" and "gender identity." In other jurisdictions, LGBT rights are protected under the ground of "sex."

Steelworkers support these changes. All workers, indeed all human beings, deserve dignity and freedom from violence and discrimination against their lived experiences. Our union is stronger when all our members live and work in an environment of respect and safety.

I encourage everyone to read the story of one of our LGBT activists in the spring 2015 issue of our USW@Work magazine. The story shows how the experience of one LGBT member can transform the solidarity of an entire workplace.

I invite USW locals, our members across the country and all Canadians to take part in Pride celebrations and activities this month. And I commend Steelworkers for your efforts throughout the year in defending human rights and equality and supporting our activists and allies in LGBT communities.